A semiconductor wafer or substrate can be made with a variety of base substrate materials, such as silicon (Si), germanium, aluminum phosphide, aluminum arsenide, gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum gallium nitride over gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN), indium phosphide, silicon carbide (SiC), or other bulk material for structural support. A plurality of semiconductor die is formed on the wafer separated by a non-active, inter-die substrate area or saw street. The saw street provides cutting areas to singulate the semiconductor wafer into individual semiconductor die.
A power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) is commonly used to switch relatively large currents. Many applications require several power MOSFETs, for example, to independently control electrical current in different loads. For instance, an automobile may require separate power MOSFETs to switch current through actuators that roll windows up and down, adjust rear-view mirrors, and adjust the position of car seats. Power MOSFETs may also be used to switch electrical current to heating elements within windows and mirrors, or as part of a switch-mode power supply to convert battery voltage to another voltage. In such applications, the electrical currents can be relatively high, leading to a need for high density, low loss switches resulting in high efficiency.
Each power device used to switch an electrical current requires control logic to determine when to turn the switch on and off. Commonly, the control logic for each power device is located in a control logic semiconductor package, and each of the power devices are separately packaged and placed on a common printed circuit board (PCB) or remotely from the control logic package. The plurality of separate semiconductor packages adds cost and consumes PCB area.